
War is Hell, But The Show Must Go in Atropia
Film Reviews
Sundance Film Review: Atropia
Director: Hailey Gates
Ways & Means, Paradise City, Frenesy Film Company
Premiere: 01.25
Satire is a staple of the war movie genre, and each major American conflict has had at least one. MASH skewered the “police action” in Korea, Good Morning, Vietnam riffed on what America was doing in Southeast Asia, and Three Kings took aim at Operation Desert Storm. Now, we have Atropia following up the latter, vying for the title of definitive farcical look at the bigger and more spectacular sequel war in Iraq.
The year is 2006, and as Operation Iraqi Freedom drags on, the country of Atropia sees its own fair share of action, with the major difference being that Atropia is, in fact, not a country at all. It exists only as a mock town located inside a military training camp in Nevada, dubbed “The Box,” where soldiers are sent to train in highly realistic simulations before deployment. The Box is somewhere between boot camp and Disneyland, providing an interactive experience complete with performers who must stay in character at all times. Fayruz (Alia Shawkat, Arrested Development, Whip It, First Cow) is an Iraqi-born actress who takes her job playing the role of an insurgent in this immersive U.S. military simulation with the utmost seriousness, jumping in with gusto — at least until she can get her break in Hollywood. Fayruz finds both her fake and her real world turned upside down when she falls in love with a soldier who goes by the name of “Abu Dice” (Callum Turner, The Boys In the Boat). This recently returned vet has been assigned to apply his expert knowledge to the role of the lead terrorist in the training exercise. Still, when sparks ignite between the two of them, they must keep their relationship hidden. The absurdity of their situation and the growing question of why they work in this absurd place (and, for that matter, why they are all helping facilitate an absurd war) are just a few of the complications that they face.
Writer-director Hailey Gates makes her feature debut with this sharp, ambitious and often laugh-out-loud funny film based on real-life military training facilities that combine Hollywood showmanship with strategic exercises. Gates has created a vivid and interesting world, though it’s such a strange one that at times it’s disorienting, and Atropia is a film that requires your full attention. The Box is a world unlike any other, run by military personnel and controlled with a hard-nosed sense of discipline. At one moment it feels like a base, and the next, it’s somewhere between a dude ranch and a summer theatre camp. The film’s swift pacing is a major strength, and there’s a zany sense of fun to these proceedings that is quite infectious. It’s a decidedly silly and irreverent approach to a controversial war that is still fresh in the minds of many, which gives it a sharp if somewhat uneven edge.
Shawkat is a brilliant comedic actress who has struggled to find anything approaching a big-screen star vehicle, and the fact that Atropia provides her that opportunity, as well as a terrific character that allows her to strut her stuff, is reason enough for kudos. Turner is very effective and quite likable as her love interest, who is still suffering from PTSD and trying to figure out how to adjust, and she’s in completely the wrong place to help him learn to cope with reality and open up to people. Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street) is very funny in an extended cameo as a Hollywood star who comes to The Box to train for a film role, and the entire ensemble is quite strong. Priscilla Garita (Insidious: Chapter 2, Good Trouble) steals the movie as Gloria, an inexperienced performer who is getting coaching on method acting from Fayruz.
Atropia isn’t quite a great film, feeling a bit too muddled at times and occasionally playing a bit too broadly to be as insightful or meaningful as it wants to be. It’s still powerful, and an extremely entertaining and gutsy film that serves as a refreshingly goofy look back at the bizarre world we lived in almost two decades ago. Most disorienting is the vague feeling of nostalgia it evokes for a time that was nonsensical and dangerous, yet it’s so much less dystopian than the one we’re living in now that Atropia feels almost quaint by comparison. —Patrick Gibbs
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